THE BEST ROUTES
in early summer. Visitors interested in botany and agriculture may stop off at the Yuan Sen Applied Botanical Garden (www. yuan-sen.com.tw) in Chulu Township (about 15 minutes north of Taitung City), where the price of entry includes hotpot f lavored with unusual herbs and vegetables. (To get there, follow Taitung County Road No. 37 from Chulu.) The small Shanli Railway Station is also worth continuing on the scenic county road to see (follow No. 38 from the Botanical Garden). In fact the old station is so photogenic that a viewing platform has been built beside it. The nearby Gospel Chapel of Shanli is also popular with visitors, but only opens for services on Sundays. Back on Hwy 9, one soon enters Luye Township, famed for its tea. Pickers can of ten be seen at work in the f ields, and the leaves may be followed back to the family-based drying and rolling houses, where the f inished product can be tasted and purchased. For those with a taste for adventure, Luye has a paragliding center operating in the summer. Although not especially high in tea-growing terms, the approximately 300-400m elevation of the rif t valley still provides suff icient day-night differences in temperature to grow quality tea. This is also said to account for the excellent quality of the rice produced in the next three townships heading north, Guanshan and Chishang in the county of Taitung and Fuli across the county boundary in Hualien. Others say the pure, mineral-rich waters descending from the Central Mountain Range are responsible. In any case, the golden harvest of this area commands some of Taiwan’s top rice prices (for more on rice, see “Rice Pilgrimage” on page 30). Dapo Lake, from which Chishang (literally “Above the Lake”) takes its name, is a pleasant oasis at which to cool off on a hot day. Pedal boats can be hired, and drinks and snacks bought.
AFTER
entering Hualien County and passing the town of Fuli, leave the highway (following Hualien County Road No. 80) to visit Luoshan Waterfall, which cascades down from the Coastal Mountain Range. Landslides have made the last section of trail leading to the waterfall impassable, but it can be seen from a distance and is worth the
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Travel in Taiwan
Photos / Hou Xie-Cheng, Sunny Su
If self- drive is not an option, you can also take the railway f rom Hualien to Taitung, which follows the Eas t Rif t Valley